# Which special forces in the US is closely associated with training of foreign special forces **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059 "2018-05-12T20:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaverocK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@MaverocK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaverocK)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/1 "2018-05-12T20:13:53Z")
There are different special forces in the US. Do all of them train special forces of foreign countries (NATO and non-NATO countries)? If all of them do it, which one does it mostly and why are they most frequently assigned to do such training task? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/2 "2018-05-12T20:17:50Z")
The Army green berets are special forces who train foreign troops along with other missions. I believe they do training frequently. [United States Army Special Forces - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces_(United_States_Army)) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/3 "2018-05-12T20:32:23Z")
I don’t know about “special forces”, but the School of the Americas does train the people of foreign nations to be, by their home standards, special: > **[Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperation)** > > The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a United States Department of Defense school located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, renamed in the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act. > The institute was founded in 1946; by 2000, more than 60,000 Latin American military, law enforcement, and security personnel had attended the school. The school was located in the Panama Canal Zone until its expulsion in 1984. The s... ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/4 "2018-05-12T23:15:27Z")
The aptly named, Special Forces (proper noun). They are assigned to do that task because that’s their job. It’s one of their five core missions. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/5 "2018-05-13T01:31:11Z")
The Green Berets are tasked with, among other things, building insurgency movements in hostile nations. So training soldiers in foreign nations is part of their core agenda. Having said that, tier one units like delta force also train counterterrorism and hostage rescue forces in other nations. I assume seal team 6 does this also. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/6 "2018-05-13T15:35:53Z")
US Army Special Forces are the old answer and still put a lot of focus into training foreign forces in general. [AustinPowersVoice] It’s their bag baby.[/APV] That mental association is still strong. Things got less clear since the creation of Special Operations Command as a Unified Combatant Command in 1987. It’s a joint command that includes all the services operators. From Joint Pub 3-05, Special Operations ([link](https://fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3-05.pdf)to pdf download): > [@](#): > > SOF are specifically organized, trained, and equipped to accomplish the 11 core activities listed in Figure II-2. **The core activities represent the collective capabilities of all joint SOF rather than those of any one Service or unit.** [Bolding in source document] While CF also conduct many of these activities (e.g., FID, SFA, COIN, and CT), SOF conduct them using specialized tactics, techniques, and procedures, and to unique conditions and standards in a manner that complement CF capabilities. Those 11 core activities of all joint SOF are direct action, special reconnaissance, counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, **counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, security force assistance, counterinsurgency,** information operations,military information support operations, and civil affairs operations. I added bolding for core activities most associated with training foreign military forces including raising guerilla/paramilitary forces that don’t fall under a nation state. All US special forces troops have the capability to advise and train foreign forces. That’s not directly an answer to who trains foreign special operations just foreign forces. It gets tough identifying what exactly counts as special. Some foreign units that get elite names and may be better trained and resourced than the rest of their military aren’t necessarily that special. They likely haven’t been through something as intensive and expensive as the selection and training procedures for US special operations forces and are starting at a lower training baseline. They may have a limited mission set that doesn’t require SF specific tactics, techniques and procedures. A mission set like raiding and patrolling could make them well suited to being assisted by infantry advisors drawn from conventional forces (or one of our new Advise and Assist Brigades being stood up.) Some functions, on the other hand, may require advising by people that are trained and experienced in the US SOCOM community. Some of those mission sets may be along the lines that do separate along service specific lines inside the US. A unit tasked with something like rescuing down downed pilots is most likely to see Air Forces Pararescue assigned to help with those tasks. It really depends on what the training mission is. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/7 "2018-05-13T17:41:11Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > A mission set like raiding and patrolling could make them well suited to being assisted by infantry advisors drawn from conventional forces (or one of our new Advise and Assist Brigades being stood up.) Some functions, on the other hand, may require advising by people that are trained and experienced in the US SOCOM community. Right now in Afghanistan, the SFABs are training/advising conventional ANA forces at the BDE level and below. Corps level advising is being done by conventional Army personnel, and the Afghan Commando forces are advised by Special Forces. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-special-forces-in-the-us-is-closely-associated-with-training-of-foreign-special-forces/814059/8 "2018-05-13T19:14:05Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Right now in Afghanistan, the SFABs are training/advising conventional ANA forces at the BDE level and below. Corps level advising is being done by conventional Army personnel, and the Afghan Commando forces are advised by Special Forces. Thanks. The best I’d seen in vague media reporting made it sound like that was the 1st SFAB’s part of the current advisory mission. I’m looking forward to the end of mission assessments as we continue standing up the rest of the SFABs.